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Cauld Face is a cultivation terraces monument located in Selkirkshire, Scotland. The terraces form part of a widespread pattern of agricultural modification across the Scottish Borders landscape. Built upon bedrock of the Gala Group, a formation of wacke dating to the Telychian period, the site sits on geology shaped during the early Palaeozoic. The wacke provides a relatively stable foundation, though its natural slope would have presented considerable challenges to medieval and early modern cultivators.
The terraces at Cauld Face represent a practical response to the rolling Selkirkshire terrain. By creating level or gently sloping platforms into the hillside, landworkers could expand arable land and improve drainage on otherwise difficult ground. Such labour-intensive earthworks typically date to the medieval period onwards, reflecting increased agricultural pressure and the consolidation of farming practices across the Scottish uplands and marginal lands.
The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the reference SM2444. The survival of these anthropogenic features demonstrates the long history of human engagement with the Selkirkshire landscape and provides evidence of past land use patterns, farming techniques and settlement strategy in this border region. The terraces remain visible as a tangible record of historical agricultural adaptation to local topography and geology.
Cauld Face,cultivation terraces is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2444. View the official record →
Cauld Face is a cultivation terraces monument located in Selkirkshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM2444.
Cauld Face,cultivation terraces is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM2444.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Cairn Rig,cairn (6.2 km), Sunderland Hall,cairn 1500m W of (7 km), Hangingshaw,earthwork (7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Cauld Face,cultivation terraces's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Cauld Face,cultivation terraces stands on Gala Group, bedrock that formed in the Telychian. The rock here is wacke.